The nationwide If/When/How Repro Legal Helpline reported on Nov. 19 that calls to their abortion and pregnancy legal hotline service have increased 360% since the election.
Here in Massachusetts we can be proud that we have guardrails against the degree of criminalization being faced daily by the clients of If/When/How’s lawyers. (See below.)
Abortion is legal in Massachusetts for people over 16 in the first 24 weeks of pregnancy. (Under 16, they must have parental consent or “judicial bypass.”) But we cannot be complacent about the situation here. Nor can we turn our backs on people who due to location or other factors are facing the realities described below.
If/When/How provides free legal representation to people who are caught afoul of abortion and forced-reproduction laws. They say: “When you’re facing criminalization for abortion, having access to a lawyer early on can make a huge difference. It can mean not having to spend even one night in jail, knowing your rights “before” you interact with the police, or preventing the family policing system from taking your children away.”
Also: “Research shows that people who are criminalized for abortion face lasting harm for their lives and their families[‘ lives, w]hether that’s harassment in their community, loss of jobs, loss of housing, or facing deportation. And it’s the same communities who are already targets of state violence[.] Black, Brown, Indigenous folks, queer folks, people with low incomes, immigrants, and young people are more likely to face criminalization.”
If/When/How urges people to Bookmark the Repro Legal Helpline so you have the resource if someone you know needs legal support for an abortion or pregnancy.
Image credit: Creative Commons/Public domain
